Dispensing apparatus



DI SPENS ING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 29, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 12, 1933.v G A BLAK DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 29, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented sept. 12, 1933 l 1,926,426Y

UNITED STATES` PATENT OFFICE i DISPENSING APPARATUS George A. Blake, New Bedford, Mass. n Application January 29, 19312. Serial No. 589,713

6 Claims. (Cl. S12-63)A This invention relates to dispensing devices tion ofthe cabinet showing very clearly the disand more particularly to devices of this character pensing mechanism; which are adapted to deliver articles orpackages Figure is a view in rear elevation of a modi of merchandise such, for example, as candy, cation of my improved dispensing device;

51chewing gum, cigarettes, handkerchiefs, or other Figure 6 is a fragmentary vertical' cross sec- 60 goods which may be wrapped or packed in cartional View taken online 6 6 of Figure 5; and tons of a size adapted to be conveniently handled Figure 7 is a horizontal cross sectional view by such a machine. taken on line '1 -7 of Figure 6.

The general object of the invention is to pro- In the embodiment of the invention illustrated 10 vde a dispensing device of this type which is of in Figures 1-4, inclusive, the dispensing cabinet 65 simple and improved construction, requiring aV as a whole is designated by the numeral l0 and is minimum number of parts, which is easy to oper'- provided with the side walls 11 and 12, the top 13, ate, and which may be adapted for the display and the bottom wall 14. The cabinet may be conand dispensing of a great variety of articles or stl'ucted of wood, sheet metal, ply board, or any packages, other suitable material. As shown in Figure 1, 70

Another object is to provide a dispensing dethe larger part of the front surface of the cabinet vice which is adapted to be operated from the is formed by the transparent panel 15 hrOugh rear by a clerk or salesman so as to eject or dewhich the articles or packages 16 may be Viewedliver an article or package from the front ofl the The lGWer DOriOn 19 0f the front face of the Cabidevice onto the counter or into the customers net iS made Of Opaque material and iS designed t0 5 hands, whereby the operating means are not COIlCeal the ejeeiing IneChaniSm- A discharge readily or conveniently accessible to the customer. Opening 20 iS prOViCled between the D21-nele 15 and In this waythe vendor has, control over the dis- 19 through WlliCh JChe artieleS may be eJ'eCted. pensing of the goods and losses due to unauthor- Referring 110W t0 Figure 2 0f the drawings, ized operation of the machine, and theft of the Whichs areal View 0f the Cabinet, the packages 0r contents thereof is minimized. articles 16 are retained by means of the flanges 22 A further object is the provisionfof a machine Which provide a rear Wall fOr ille display 00nof this type which comprisesl a cabinet within one tainer POIiiOn 0f J011e Cabinet- Y A filling Openingr portion of which a Supply `of Superposed articles is provided at the top of the rear portion of the oripaokages of merchandise is adapted to be discabinet readily accessible only to the clerk or 5 played and inte a lower portion of which is salesman. The rear wall flanges 22 terminate at adapted to be installed a dispensing mechanism a point opposite the lower end 0f kthe glass front for succesively ejecting the articles from the bot-V panel, and the remaining lOWer DOltiOn 0f the rear tom of the pile. l wall is omitted so as to provide an opening'for the A stili further object of the invention is to proinsertion 0f the dispensing mechanism presentlyl vide an ejector of the type described which is C0 be deSeribedf provided with alternative operating means, one One 0f the essential elements 0f lille dispensing 0f which ig adapted 130 be Struck 01 pushed and Il'leChaIllSm lS the frame 27 Which COmplIlSeS the the other is adapted -to be pulled in order to causer base 28, the tWO SDaCeCl parallel Vertieally eXterldthe ejector to discharge the articles. ing members or partitions 29 and 30,' and the out- Other objects and features ofnovelty will be Wardly eXiJendng flangee 511 and 32 Secured at the apparent from the following specification when upper ends 0f these partltlons- The base .28 may read in connection with the accompanying drawbe Secured to the bottom Wan of th? Cabmet by ings) in which one embodiment of the invention means of the screws or other fastening elements .uusirated by Way of exampla 34. The horizontal nanges 31 and a2 are adapted 1S l to form a shelf or support upon which the lowern.1 Saud drawings' most article or package is adapted to rest. The Flgure l 1.5 a Vlew m .front elevftlqn of af dls" top surface of the shelf thus provided is, of course, lemme .Cabmet embodymg the Punclples of my hush with the upper edge of the front panel 19 mventlon? 1 forming. the lower margin of the delivery open- Figure 2 is a View thereof 1n rear elevation; ing 20. Figure 3 is a View in horizontal cross section The ejector member, which is adapted to push taken Online 3-30f Figure 2 i the lowermost article forwardly through the open` Figure 4 is a fragmentary vertical cross sec-` ing 20, comprises essentially the lever 35 of a 110 tional View on an enlarged scale of the lower por-` somewhat irregular contour which is pivotally f ecA the pull upon the chain 42.

mounted intermediate its length upon the trunnion or pin 36 which is secured at either end within openings formed in the partitions 29 and 30. A projection 33 is formed at the upper end of the lever or ejector 35 which is adapted to extend above the shelf provided by the flanges 31 and 32 and to contact the rear end of the article or package to be delivered as at 39.

A rearward extension is provided upon the lever as one means for operating the same to eject an article. It will be apparent that when the portion 40 is pushed or struck, the upper end of the lever will move forwardly around the pivot 36 and sweep the lowermost package 16 from the shelf and through the opening 20.

An alternative means for operating the device is provided in the chain 42 which may have a ball 43 at the end thereof and which is adapted to be connected to the lower portion of the lever as at 44. Since this point of connection 44 is below the pivot point 36, it is obvious that a rearward jerk or pull upon the chain 42 will cause the ejector to operate in the same way as by manipulation of the portion 40, as previously described.

In order to resiliently urge the lever 35 toward its retracted position, a coil spring 46 is provided, one endfof which is secured to the cross pin 47 which extends between the forward wall portions ofthe partitions 29 and 30, the other end of this spring being connected to the forward lower porticn of the lever 35 as at 48. The projection 50 formed upon thelower outer end of the lever 35 is adapted to extend below the base 28 of the dispensing device and to abut the rear edge thereof when the lever 35 is' in the retracted position toward which itris'urged by the spring 46.

It will be readily apparent that the distance through which the article or package is thrown from the device may be regulated by the force of the blow upon the portion 40 or by the force of In the modification illustrated in Figures 5-7, inclusive,.o'f the drawings, the cabinet or container 50 is substantiallythe same in construction as the cabinet 10 illustrated in the first described embodiment. The rear wall 51 of the cabinet is provided with the upper filling opening 52 for the articles of merchandise 53 which are adapted to successively descend within the container as they are ejected at the lower portion thereof. The rear wall 51is also provided with a vertical slot 54 through which access may be had to the packages within the cabinet. The

, front *walll 55 of the cabinet is preferably constructed of transparent material and is provided,

as at 56, with a discharge opening throughwhich the lowermost package may be ejected. In the lower portion'of the rear wall 5l there is provided an opening 58 which is adapted to substantially'register with the dischargel opening 56 in the front wall. i

In this embodiment there is provided an ejecting mechanism 60which is disposed in the vlower portion of the cabinet and provides a rest or a shelf 61 for the packages or articles.

This ejector mechanism 60, as illustrated, comprises a block of preferablyrrectangular cross section, within which is provided a preferably longitudinally extending cylindrical bore 63. A plunger 65 is adapted to bek disposed for longitudinal reciprocation within this bore and is adapted to be urged toward its retracted position, as shown in Figure 6, by means of a coil spring 66 which is disposed forwardly of the plunger 65 and is adapted to be compressed between the plunger and the forward end 67 of the bore. Suitably secured to and projecting upwardly from the plunger 65 is the ejector arm 70. A slot 71 is provided in the upper surface of the block 60 to accommodate the reciprocating movement of the ejector arm 70 during the dispensing operation, Secured to the rear end of the block 60 as by means ofthe screws 73 is the plate 75 which serves yas a stop or abutment for limiting the rearward movement of the plunger 65 and its ejector arm 70 under the influence of the spring 66.

From the foregoing description, it will be readily understood that, in operation, the rear end 77 of the plunger 65 is adapted to be struck or pushed in order to eject the article or package which is resting upon the shelf 6l.

This invention thus provides a very convenient dispensing mechanism which is adapted to be so positioned upon a counter or similar support as to face the customer and to be operated from the rear by the clerk or salesman and by means of which an article may be delivered to the purchaser promptly without being handled by the clerk and without danger of theft. It is also apparent that the dispensing device 27 of the first described embodiment-may be built into a cabinet as an integral part thereof instead of.

being installed as a separate mechanism, as has been described in connection with the illus 'rated embodiment. Furthermore, various other changes and mcdiiications may be made in the embodiment disclosed without Vdeparting from the scope of the invention as disclosed in the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a dispensing device -for articles of merchandise, in combination, a frame comprising a base, a pair of spaced parallel verticalmembers extendingV upwardly from said base, a horizontally disposed shelf memberextending out wardly from the top of each of said vertical members, and adapted to successively support said` articles, an ejector lever disposed betweenl said parallel members pivoted at a point intermediate its length thereto, and adapted to move between said shelf members toA discharge lsaid articles from said shelf, and operating means for said lever.

V2. In a dispensing device for articles of merchandise, in combination, a frame comprising a base, a pair of spaced parallel vertical members extending upwardly from said base, a horizontally disposed shelf member extending outwardly from the top of each of said vertical members, and adapted to successively support said articles, an ejector lever disposed between said parallel members pivoted at a point intermediate itslength thereto, and adapted to move between said shelf members to discharge said articles from said shelf, and a retracting spring connected at one end to said frame at a point in advance of said lever, and at its other end to a portion of said lever below its pivot point, stop means for limiting the retraction of said lever by said spring, and operating means for said lever.

` 3. In a dispensing device for articles of mer--l chandise, in combination, a frame comprising a base, a pair of spaced parallel vertical members extending upwardly from said base, a horizontally disposed shelf member extending outwardly from ejector lever disposed between said parallel members pivoted at a point intermediate its length thereto, and adapted to move between said shelf members to discharge said articles from said shelf, and a retracting spring connected at one end to said frame at a point in advance of said lever, and at its other end to a portion of said lever below its pivot point, stop means for limiting the retraction of said lever by said spring, and means at the upper end of said lever adapted to be pushed or struck to effect the ejection movement of said lever.

4. In a dispensing device for articles of merchandise, in combination, a frame comprising al shelf, and a retracting spring connected at one end to said frame at a point in advance of said lever, and at its other end to a portion of said lever below its pivot point, stop means for limiting the retraction of said lever by said spring, and means at the lower end of said levei` adapted to be pulled to effect the ejection movement of said lever.

5. In a dispensing device for articles of merchandise, in combination, a frame comprising a base, a pair of spaced parallel vertical members extending upwardly from said base, a horizontally disposed self member extending outwardly from the top of each of said Vertical members, and adapted to successively support said articles, an

ejector lever disposed between said parallel members pivoted at a point intermediate its length thereto, and adapted to move between saidy shelf members to discharge said articles from said shelf, a retracting spring connected at one end to said frame at a point in advance of said lever, and at its other end to a portion of said lever below its pivot point, stop means for limiting the retraction of said lever by said springs, means at the upper end of said lever adapted to be pushed or struck to effect the ejection movement thereof, and means at the lower end of said lever adapted to be pulled to effect said ejection movement.

6.-I'n a dispensing device for articles of merchandise, in combination, a casing having a discharge opening in the front Wall thereof, a shelf for successively supporting said articles adjacent said discharge opening, said shelf being provided with a slot, an ejector for said articles having a substantially central portion thereof pivoted atl a point beloWAsaid shelf, a plurality of peripherally spaced projections on said ejector, one of said projections adapted to move in said slot to eject articles forwardly of said device through said opening, another of said projections extending through an opening in the rear Wall of said casing and adapted to be pushed for operating said ejector, a third projection also extending through said last named opening and adapted to be pulled for operating said ejector, a spring secured to a fourth one of said projections for urging said ejector toward retracted position, and

Va stop abutment on said ejector adapted to con- 

